Closer
by cassie.hack
Summary: "Shepard listens to me!" "And you're single, aren't you?" Before she can stop it, her father's words have already managed to confuse Liara. Shepard couldn't be... could she?
1. Chapter 1

**Closer**

_._

"Sex appeal." Aethyta shrugged indifferently, oblivious to her daughter who'd started shooting nervous glances at the various aliens passing them by or standing within earshot...

Finally noticing her daughter's darkened cheeks, a smile tugged at the matriarch's lips as she continued her torment, "Most species only pay attention if they want to have sex with you... So you have to be available, mysterious..."

"What?" Liara's eyes settled on her father again. "That's not true!"

Aethyta slightly tilted her head to the side, an amused smile on her face as she watched her daughter's inner turmoil.

Liara swallowed under her father's gaze. The matriarch obviously expected an explanation for her outburst (even if it had just been meant to stop her father's speech)...

Inhaling deeply, Liara placed both her hands on the bar and leaned forward to underline her next words. "Shepard listens to me," she stated, pushing herself off the bar and crossing her arms in front of her chest triumphantly.

Her father gave a short laugh and leniently shook her head at her daughter's naiveness. "And you're single, aren't you?"

Liara's brows furrowed in confusion. What did it matter if-

"You think Shepard is..." Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "No." Aethyta nodded encouragingly. "No!" Liara repeated, more determined this time.

Her father's smile and suggestively raised eyebrow only increased the younger asari's confusion and so she shook her head once more before taking a few steps back from the bar as if by putting more distance between herself and her father, she could run away from the matriarch's words and the unsettling feelings they had started...

"I... need to go..." she murmured and spun on her heels, storming away from her father's gleaming eyes.

"Go get her!" Aethyta yelled after her daughter, not caring about the aliens turning their heads towards her. Instead, she gave her daughter the thumbs up when Liara paused and turned back to the bar. "Trust me," the matriarch yelled, encouraged by her daughter's obvious interest in her advice... (Eh, what the hell... She just liked to yell...) Leaning forward on the bar, Aethyta added, "If it's all civilized, you're not doing it right." She nodded, smiling suggestively at a turian leaning against the bar who'd almost choked on his drink and hastily turned away from the asari's gaze.

Liara's eyebrow rose involuntarily. How that person could be her other parent was beyond her. She honestly doubted having any of Aethyta's genetic material in her...

She noticed in horror that her father opened her mouth again (probably preparing herself to yell how to seduce the commander and what to do once she got her alone in her cabin across the entire plaza) and Liara hastily shook her (now almost entirely purple) head and stormed up the remaining stairs, hoping that would stop her father.

It did...

Seeing Liara storm away, Aethyta shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the turian, leaning closer to the nervous alien while he tried to evade her gleaming eyes. "Ever had sex with a hanar?" She gave a short, husky laugh. "I could tell you stories, my friend..."

"Please don't!"

* * *

A few steps away, Liara had meanwhile reached the end of the stairs and was passing the holographic commercials on her way to the elevator, keeping her head low in her pace.

Her father was wrong! Shepard wasn't interested in her, it was impossible! She'd heard it herself...

* * *

_"Sorry, Ma'am. Maybe I got a bad signal. I mean if you're a— Maybe there's someone else you'd rather confide in, Ma'am."_

_Liara paused. This conversation she'd stumbled upon seemed rather personal and she wasn't one to eavesdrop, but Kaidan and whoever he was talking to were standing in the Mess Hall and there was no way for Liara to sneak past them and make it into the Med Bay without being noticed..._

_"All right, Alenko." Shepard's voice sounded tired, almost annoyed – or maybe that was just Liara's hope... _imagination!_ she quickly corrected herself before slightly leaning closer to where the voices came from._

_"Off the record, permission to speak candidly, cross my heart and hope to die. What are you talking about?"_

_"Uh, Dr. T'Soni, Ma'am."_

_Liara's breathing stopped for a moment and she involuntarily pressed her back against the elevator wall, trying not to gasp for air when her lungs started burning. Instead, she forced herself to take quiet, shallow breaths from time to time while she waited. Her body tensed even more at Kaidan's next words._

_"There's a lower-deck rumor that she's, uh, interested in you. As more than a source of Prothean data."_

_How did they know that? Who had started that rumor? Liara bit her lower lip. She'd thought she'd concealed her emotions rather well so far..._

_Shepard's heavy sigh jolted her out of her troubling thoughts as she'd started recalling all the times she'd been around other crew members, wondering when it might have been that she'd involuntarily revealed her intentions to one of them..._

_"Once the galaxy is safe, I might start caring about all the rumors I come across, but until then I still have a job to do and I intend on finishing it without participating in wearisome teenage love-triangles, so keep your jealousy to yourself. Don't you have anything better to do with your time, Alenko?"_

_"I... yes, Ma'am, you're right, I... we should focus on the mission."_

_"That all? Or are there any other lingering issues? Would you like to know how I like my coffee in the morning or what toothpaste I use?" A short, sarcastic laugh followed. "Oh, silly me, I'm sure there are already rumors about that too..."_

_"If I knew how you like your coffee, Ma'am, I could-"_

_"I'm not interested! Not in you and not in anyone else for that matter! I'm here to do my job, nothing more."_

* * *

Liara had reached the Citadel's main elevator and waited for its doors to open, biting her lower lip in thought.

Ever since that incident, Kaidan had stopped his advances and Liara herself had given up her efforts, dismissing the thought quickly. As far as she knew, no one had kept Shepard company on their way to Ilos (Liara had accidentally found a reason to stay in the Med Bay and start a conversation with Dr. Chakwas to keep an eye on the commander's cabin across the hall... just in case...) and she had mainly kept to herself while taking out the Collector base (as the new Shadow Broker, it only seemed to be thoughtful of Liara to keep an eye on her friend...) and now that they were both back onboard the same ship again, neither Samantha's british accent nor James' body seemed to evoke any kind of interest in the commander. The woman's self-control was admirable, no doubt, and Liara wished she had more of it herself whenever they had returned from previous missions and she'd watched the commander peel out of her armor in the shuttle bay, but maybe that was something being expected from a soldier. Something neither an archeologist and Prothean expert nor a Shadow Broker would ever fully understand...

But the seed of doubt had been planted... She sighed, brushing her hand over her forehead. _Thank you, Dad..._

The elevator doors opened and Shepard raised her head, smiling at the frozen asari standing before her.

"On your way back to the Normandy too?"

Liara simply nodded but remained standing in front of the elevator. _Of all people..._

* * *

Shepard tilted her head to the side and shot Liara another warm smile. "Need help?" It wasn't so much a tease as actual concern as she observed her friend standing stock-still in front of her.

"What?" Liara blinked and finally seemed to realize that her legs weren't moving. She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts and approached the elevator while Shepard held the doors open for her.

The asari stood next to Shepard and faced the closed elevator doors, her sideglances not going unnoticed, however. Shepard tried to keep her relaxed expression, but something seemed to trouble her friend, which, in return, started troubling her... Well, there was the war that had started taking its toll on her entire crew, but this seemed to be about something else... She turned her head, smiling at Liara just as she shot her another sideglance. The asari quickly turned her head back to the elevator doors and Shepard's brows furrowed. _What's going through your mind?_

* * *

Why was her body making it so hard for her all of a sudden? Shepard was a good friend, they'd been through a lot and she had decided long ago to rather have her in her life as a friend than not at all, so why had her heart started racing again after all those years that she'd thought she had her emotions under control?

Liara glanced at the woman standing next to her. While all around them, people were gathering what they could – including love – in fear of losing it all or not having enough time left in this war, Shepard was standing next to her in this elevator, the all too familiar relaxed expression on her face as if such a thought had never crossed her mind...

Liara had done her research on human behavior – on alien behavior in general, really... it wasn't that different – and it seemed most species felt the need to bond. Humans especially since their species still had – along with salarians – one of the shortest life spans in the galaxy... So how was it possible that everyone else's need to bond seemed to just be... absent in this one person? This one person Liara would still be willing to give up anything for, if it meant to overcome the friendly distance they still kept...

Her heart skipped a beat. Even though she'd settled for 'just friends', if there was even a small chance for more, she needed to know!

Determined, she turned to face Shepard fully. "Shepard, I..."

"Hm?"

Those blue eyes were on her again and Liara's voice drifted off. Shepard's smile made Liara fear that her legs might give way under her. She couldn't do it...

* * *

The commander turned to face her companion fully. This wasn't like Liara at all... She was almost reminded of their first meeting and the following time they'd spent on the original Normandy. Shepard had thought Liara had left the shy archeologist persona behind her a long time ago, but it seemed the asari was once more unable to finish a sentence, evading the commander's eyes like she had during their first conversations. Was it something she'd said?

Shepard placed a hand on Liara's shoulder and squeezed it encouragingly. "We've been friends a long time, Liara. What's on your mind?"

She felt Liara tense under her hand and quickly dropped it again, not wanting to make the asari feel even more uncomfortable than she obviously already did...

* * *

Liara's shoulder immediately felt cold as Shepard's hand left it, but before her body could fully respond to the loss, her omni-tool started blinking and Liara gave a sigh of relief at the sudden, unexpected help... Her relief, however, vanished as soon as her father's face appeared, the matriarch's eyes settling on Shepard immediately.

"Heh, so you've already managed to get her alone. That's my girl! Now, what you need to do is-"

Slamming a hand on her omni-tool, Liara immediately cut her father off, frantically turning off the entire omni-tool and – just to be sure – hiding her arm behind her back as she shot Shepard an apologetic smile, swallowing once.

Shepard's eyebrow rose. "What was that?"

"Well..." This was her chance... Her father had involuntarily given her a reason to blame _him_... _Serves him right... _"My father seems to think that... you might have a... romantic interest in..." She stopped, averting her eyes. She just couldn't do it... Even though, technically, her father more than deserved to take the blame for all of this...

"In you?" Shepard's smile widened, but it wasn't a sarcastic smile, as Liara noticed with relief after another nervous sideglance. Nor was her tone any indication that she was making fun of her... The commander gave a short laugh and turned back to the still closed elevator doors, nodding in thought. "Yeah... this whole war..." She paused. "And seeing close friends dying definitely gives you a new perspective," she mused, just as the elevator doors opened.

Without another word of explanation, Shepard stepped out of the elevator and made her way towards the docked Normandy.

Feeling even more nervous and confused now, Liara hurried after the commander, still not sure if she should pursue the topic and demand a satisfying answer.

_The war has given her a new perspective? What does _that_ mean? _She sighed inwardly. _Why couldn't I fall in love with an elcor? At least _they_ don't even have a choice whether or not to talk about what they feel..._

Deep in thought, Liara followed Shepard to the Normandy, through the CIC and into the elevator without taking her eyes off the commander, who, as soon as she'd entered the elevator, turned around, smiled at her widely and-

_Was that a wink? What is that supposed to mean? Did she just wink at me... or was it meant for Samantha... or... Joker?_

* * *

Shepard's eyes lit up as she watched Liara follow her into the elevator, an amused smile on the commander's face. Her friend was obviously troubled by her words... Maybe she should have added some sort of explanation, but then again, she couldn't help but enjoy their little game. She wanted to see how far Liara was willing to go... Not to tease her, but to know how far she herself was allowed to go...

It wasn't that the thought had never crossed her mind, but she had always been aware of the responsibility she'd held. For her crew, for her ship, and now, as it seemed, almost for the entire galaxy as everyone's eyes were on her... She'd been lucky to have friends accompanying her along the way. People that had accepted her choice to focus on her missions and until now, that had been enough for her. That didn't mean she had been oblivious to people's interest in her. Some – like a certain shy asari scientist's – welcome, others – like a certain human biotic's – a bit less welcome... But while Kaidan's retreat didn't affect her in the slightest, a part of her had always regretted noticing that – for some strange reason – Liara seemed to have done the same, making Shepard more than once wonder if she'd just imagined things in the first place...

Shooting another sideglance at the asari still deep in thought next to her, Shepard turned to the elevator controls and activated her floor. She took a step aside to give Liara access to the controls as well, but the asari just bit her lower lip and searched Shepard's eyes. The commander turned back to the already closed elevator doors, seemingly unimpressed by Liara's hesitation, and leaned against the elevator walls as the cabin started its ascent.

* * *

Liara shot another sideglance at Shepard, noticing the commander's amused smile. She crossed her arms in front of her chest to stop her hands from shaking as the distance to her own office increased with every passing second. She could still activate her floor on the elevator controls. She could let Shepard exit at her floor and then ride back down to her own floor again, but somehow, Shepard's smile made her 'take her chances', as humans sometimes put it...

The elevator finally stopped and its doors hissed open, the letters _'Captain's Cabin' _greeting Liara as if trying to remind her again that she wasn't supposed to be here...

_I can't just follow her into her cabin, she hasn't even invited me up... Well, not officially... But she's my superior, I can't-_

Liara's thoughts were once more interrupted as Shepard shot her another warm – inviting? – smile before she stepped out of the elevator and approached her cabin door.

Liara took a deep breath before she exited the elevator as well, following Shepard all the way into her cabin without a word from either one of them. She stopped in the cabin's entrance area and waited, suddenly feeling unsure of what to do next once more... This wasn't like her at all, what was she even thinking? She should just go...

* * *

Shepard had meanwhile reached her aquarium and, after one more step, finally stopped, turning back around to Liara. She tilted her head lightly, but as she noticed the asari's shocked expression at that simple motion (probably thinking she'd done something wrong), the commander smiled and held out her hand. _That should clear things up..._

* * *

Giving a heavy sigh of relief, Liara approached the waiting woman and thankfully took the offered hand, letting herself be pulled into Shepard's arms. Shepard's lips found hers and Liara gave a soft sigh. How many times she'd wondered how it would feel to kiss her...

Her thoughts raced as every scent, every taste, the feeling of Shepard's body close to hers flooded her senses now while she tried to memorize every single one of them...

Another sigh escaped her. She would have to thank Aethyta later...

_Thank you, Dad. You're the best father a girl could wish for..._

* * *

At a distance, leaning against the bar, Aethyta turned off her omni-tool, still grinning._ She was too old to buy her a damn pony anyway..._ she mused as she straightened up. She'd heard enough. Her daughter deserved some privacy... Shaking her head, she gave a short laugh. It had been almost too easy to plant that bug on her daughter... She'd have to make sure to heighten Liara's sense of awareness the next time she came by. Embarrassment was no excuse for carelessness!

Still, the matriarch couldn't stop smiling as she whispered to herself, "You're welcome, kid. You're welcome..." But speaking of awareness... Her head whipped around to a human who immediately jumped at her booming voice. "Ey, you just gonna stand there and stare or are you going to order something?"

"D-Do you have a... Canadian lager?"

* * *

_A/N: I just thought it might help me getting a feeling for Liara's character, that's why I wrote this... The title (as well as the story) was kinda inspired by "Closer" by Frida Amundsen, in case you wondered... Oh and there definitely need to be more Aethyta-stories... :)  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: After thinking about it some more, I guess Aethyta deserves a "thank you", don't you think?_

* * *

"...so, naturally, you'd think they _actually_ feel like jelly, but, oh boy, trust me, they don't." Aethyta gave a short laugh as she poured herself another drink. "Don't even know who started that rumor in the first place..." she mused as she watched the liquid fill the glass until it almost spilled over its edge. She placed the bottle back under the bar and shrugged. "Oh well..."

Half of the glass' content was already gone when she placed it back down after a single, large gulp. She leaned on the counter of the bar and continued, "Only downside I see is that they glow in the dark... It's almost impossible to sleep next to one... It's like sleeping next to a neon sign. Plus their color changes depending on the dreams they're having. And trust me: You do _not_ want to wake up in the middle of the night to a pulsing purple..." She took another large gulp and slammed the now empty glass on the table. "Heh, bet no one's ever told you _that_ before..."

Startled by the sound of the glass hitting the bar, a woman standing in front of the vending machine next to the café turned her head, blinking in surprise. "Are you talking to me?"

The matriarch gave a short laugh. "Yeah. Or do you see anyone else- There she is!" Aethyta exclaimed and spread her arms in a welcoming gesture as she noticed Liara approaching the café for the second time that day, the confused woman at the vending machine already forgotten... "Back from your little... nap, I take it..." She winked at her daughter. "You look well rested..."

"I..."

And there was that purple blush on her daughter's cheeks again... Aethyta chuckled. _Too easy..._

"Want something to drink?"

Liara's eyebrow rose. "It is the middle of the day. Are you sure you should be drinking already? _And_ while you're working, at that?" She followed the already refilled glass on its way to the matriarch's lips and back down on the table, emptied.

"Hm?" Aethyta followed Liara's line of sight and shrugged as her eyes fell on the empty glass on the bar. "Eh, who cares? 'Try before you buy', as humans say. How am I supposed to sell liquor to customers if I don't even know how it tastes? But that's beside the point right now..." She nodded towards her daughter, an amused smile on her face. "You seem to have had a little fun yourself..." She pointed at Liara's labcoat. "One of your buckles is still unclasped..."

Liara's eyes narrowed defensively. "It is not!"

Still, Aethyta noted with delight that the younger asari shot a quick glance down her outfit, straightening it matriarch placed a calming hand on Liara's and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you, kid..." She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, since you didn't come back here for the drinks and I assume you don't want to hear anything more about your mother's qualities _or_ your krogan genes...?" She raised an expectant eyebrow and her amused smile was back in place when she saw her daughter shake her head vehemently.

The matriarch shrugged indifferently. It was worth a try... "So, what brings you here then? Missed my company already?"

"I..." Liara lowered her gaze and nervously straightened her outfit once more. "I think I should thank you... for..."

The amused smile on Aethyta's face widened. "Thank me for what? My perfect genes? The strong biotics? The good looks you inherited?" she teased with a wink.

Liara sighed and brushed a hand over her forehead. This might take a while...

"Could I still get that offered drink now?"

* * *

"I made her promise to let you go your own way, though. No matter what she wanted," Aethyta declared with a slight slur in her voice.

The Citadel's artificial light had been dimmed during their talk and most patrons and visitors of the Commons had already retreated to their apartments by now, leaving them almost alone on the plaza.

"Really?" Liara's eyebrow rose and she placed the empty glass on the table, shaking her head no as her father set to refill it for the tenth time – and rolling her eyes as the matriarch did so regardless...

After refilling her own glass and downing its content, Aethyta nodded eagerly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before she leaned forward on the bar, placing a steadying hand on it for support.

"I knew you'd be special, kid," she stated and sighed, looking away in thought before she continued. "Any daughter of hers."

A smile spread across the matriarch's face at a sudden memory that moment. "I told her: 'You're treating her like a baby bird, Nezzie. She's gonna raise one hell of a storm with those little wings...'"

Liara's hand holding the glass stopped midway. "Little wing?"

Aethyta raised her head, giving her daughter a concerned look. "You okay?"

"Yes..." Liara nodded, quickly taking another sip from her glass to hide her attempt to blink away some of the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Thanks."

Aethyta grabbed Liara's free hand and squeezed it lightly, smiling at her daughter while she waited for Liara's obvious inner turmoil to wane.

A sudden thought made Liara raise her head once more. "So... you knew me?" she asked carefully.

Aethyta's eyebrow rose. "'Course I knew you!" she exclaimed, a little louder than intended. She gently squeezed her daughter's hand. "I made Nezzie send me a holo from each of your birthdays! I even visited you once when you were still a baby, but you probably won't remember that..."

* * *

_"What are you doing here?" Benezia's wide eyes looked at the figure standing in front of her door with a mixture of shock and surprise._

_"I want to see her, Nezzie." Aethyta nodded to the cradle standing prominently in the middle of the room behind Benezia. "Just once. You can't deny me that!" she stated in a tone that offered no room for argument._

_"How did you even find us?"_

_Aethyta gave a short, humorless laugh. "You think you're the only one with resources?" Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Cost me a fortune, though... I guess that means I'll have to stay sober for the next couple of months to be able to still afford my rent..." She raised her head and locked eyes with Benezia again. "So...? You can't just send me away again, you know. I might start a scene... Bet the other matriarchs wouldn't like that..."_

_Benezia shot a glance over her shoulder before she turned back to her visitor and shook her head, biting her lower lip in guilt at her next words. "I don't think that's a good idea..."_

_"Oh come on, Nezzie!" the other matriarch pleaded. "She's too young to remember me and even if she does... tell her I'm... tell her whatever you like, but I want to see her! Goddess, I even bought her a plush hanar. A plush hanar! Do you know how ridiculous I felt buying a plush version of an alien I've slept with?"_

_Benezia rolled her eyes and sighed. _Not _that_ story again...

_Realizing that Benezia was still hesitant (and to emphasize her words), Aethyta held up the toy she'd bought as proof, wiggling it in front of the other matriach's face._

_The pained expression on Aethyta's face and her slight shudder at the memory of her visit to the toy store seemed to finally calm Benezia and a shy smile started tugging at her lips as she took a step aside and nodded. "Fine. But no swearing around her," she warned._

_"Eh, she's gotta learn how to defend herself in this dark and cruel galaxy sooner or later. Some words might help her prove her point in future arguments..." Aethyta winked at her as she entered the apartment and slowly, almost carefully, approached the cradle._

_Benezia rolled her eyes once more but just closed the door to the apartment without another word and turned around to see Aethyta standing frozen in front of the cradle, the plush hanar still in her hands._

_"Is something wrong?" Benezia approached the frozen asari. "You can just give her the toy, she's already awake. You don't have to worry about-" She stopped as she noticed Aethyta's expression._

_Aethyta took a few deep breaths while her grip on the plush hanar in her hands tightened until Benezia feared she might rip the toy apart – a sight she'd like to spare her daughter at such a young age... The baby asari in the cradle had meanwhile stopped squirming and was now staring at the asari as curiously as she was being eyed by Aethyta._

_"I..." Aethyta started but was lost for words once more and simply shook her head._

_Benezia took a step forward and placed a comforting hand on the other matriarch's shoulder, thus breaking her out of her numbness. She hastily shoved the plush hanar towards her daughter and immediately retreated as Liara tried to grab her hand. The baby asari's forehead creased in confusion but she closed her arms around the toy instead, almost vanishing behind it._

_"She's beautiful," Aethyta whispered, still in awe._

_"Yes, she is." Benezia nodded and smiled as Aethyta finally raised her head and faced her._

_The two asari looked at each other for a long second before Aethyta took a deep breath and shot forward, pinning Benezia against the nearest wall with two quick steps and-_

* * *

Liara cleared her throat and Aethyta blinked in confusion, facing her daughter again. Noticing Liara's disapproving look, she smiled and nodded. "Oh, right, no details. Sorry, kid..."

Liara rolled her eyes but still couldn't hide her smile. She sighed happily. "All this time I thought you might have been... embarassed by the union... That you were too ashamed to publicly acknowledge me as your offspring..."

"What?" Aethyta's eyes widened. "That's ridiculous!" She turned away from Liara, shouting, "Hey, everyone! This breathtakingly beautiful, absolutely astonishing, strong-willed and talented asari right here is my daughter and I am the proudest father in the whole galaxy!"

"Silence! There are people here that need their slee-"

A biotic push hit the turian who'd leaned out of his apartment's window to complain straight in the face and sent him flying backwards, a loud _thump_ indicating his – surely painful – halt only seconds later, followed by a muffled "Ow".

Liara's head whipped around. "Dad!"

"What?" Aethyta raised both hands in a defensive gesture. "He deserved it! That guy's been nagging me all week, I'm telling you. He had it coming..."

Liara shook her head. "Was that really necessary?"

The matriarch grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Probably not... Felt good though..."

A man who'd been cleaning glasses at the far side of the café for what seemed like the last couple of hours now stepped behind the matriarch and tapped her on the shoulder, clearing his throat. Aethyta turned her head lazily and the man nodded at the – aside from Liara – empty bar.

"I think I'll close the café for today. It might be a good idea for you to get out of here before C-Sec shows up anyway..."

The matriarch contemplated that thought for a second before she nodded and tossed the towel she'd cleaned the bar with every five minutes the entire evening behind her before she circled the bar. "Right. See you tomorrow then."

The human nodded and turned around to grab the towel from the ground and fold it neatly. Liara activated her omni-tool but Aethyta shook her head and grabbed her daughter's arm, pulling her with her and away from the café. Liara shot another glance over her shoulder before she turned to her father.

"He is not going to charge you for the liquor we consumed?"

Aethyta waved her off. "Nah. Just had to show him my glowing hands once and since then, everything's on the house." The matriarch chuckled and, as she noticed her daughter's suspicious glare, wrapped an arm around the younger asari's waist. "Don't worry about it, kid. And before you turn into your mother and tell me how wrong it is to use my biotics for selfish reasons... let's talk about something more interesting..."

"Like what?"

"Like your human lover, for example..."

"I do not have a... 'human lover', Dad."

"Oh, don't give me that! I've seen the way you look at each other. Surprised your panties haven't caught fire..."

Liara groaned. "Dad..."

Aethyta gave a short laugh at her daughter's reaction. They started climbing the stairs leading away from the plaza and Aethyta turned her head, winking at Liara. "So... that Shepard's quite the catch... Bit too smart-mouthed for me, but... well... I guess she's all right... She cares about you, you know that?"

The matriarch cleared her throat as she slightly leaned backwards, hoping her words would distract her daughter long enough so she wouldn't notice her carefully patting at Liara's labcoat.

She did...

Liara sighed. "If you're looking for the bug you planted on me earlier, Shepard destroyed it..." she stated matter-of-factly.

Aethyta stopped. "She did what?" she exclaimed. "Do you know how expensive that bug was?"

"2,185 credits, yes. And it serves you right!"

The matriarch sighed. "Well, I hope she at least destroyed it by accident while pinning you against a wall or something like that..." She glanced at her daughter and gave a short laugh as she watched Liara's facial expression change. "You're too easy to read, kid."

Liara bit her lower lip and cleared her throat as she nodded towards the stairs to both sides of them, leading to apartments. "I think I should go back now and you're probably exhausted as well, so... You should go to your apartment. Good night, Dad."

"And let you walk back to your ship alone?" Aethyta shook her head. "Absolutely not! I'll walk you there," she announced, tightening her grip on Liara and pulling her towards the elevator. "It's a dangerous place here, especially for young and beautiful asari who still refuse to use the genetic traits given to them and headbutt people in self-defense..."

"You're still doing it on purpose..."

"Heh, yeah... maybe... But anyway, I don't think you're in any condition to walk by yourself, kid." She loosened her grip on her daughter's waist and as if her wobbly legs and spinning head – she really shouldn't have let her father talk her into drinking that last krogan liquor – hadn't already been proof enough, Liara felt herself swaying dangerously as she tried to take a few, staggering steps on her own.

Her father was at her side a second later and she wrapped her daughter back into her arms while Liara buried her face in her hands, groaning in frustration.

"You've ruined me!" the younger asari whined.

Aethyta gave a short laugh and waved her free hand dismissively. "Eh, you already had those genes in you, just needed someone to bring 'em out..."

Liara's eyebrow rose and she shot her father a quick sideglance. "If mother knew about your upbringing methods..."

Aethyta simply shrugged. "Somebody's gotta do it... Somebody's gotta raise you now, might as well be me."

"I don't need to be raised anymore, Dad. I am 109."

Aethyta chuckled as she activated the elevator controls they'd just reached. "We'll talk about that once you've learned to stomach a few drinks without almost collapsing on the bar..."

Looking down at her daughter when she didn't hear any protest, a warm smile spread across Aethyta's face. She pulled her arm tighter around the sleeping form of her daughter to support her while the elevator doors closed, taking them to the Docking Bay.

* * *

The rumbling of the elevator coming to a halt woke Liara up again and she blinked rapidly, trying to orient herself.

"Almost home," she heard a familiar voice whisper and nodded, leaning heavily on Aethyta while they walked towards the docked Normandy, where they were greeted by a waiting Shepard causally leaning against the wall near the airlock, smiling at them.

"I am not even going to ask..." Shepard stated with a raised eyebrow as she approached the two figures, taking Liara from her father and wrapping her arm around her just like the matriarch had done before. Liara sighed happily as she buried her face in Shepard's neck, inhaling the now already familiar scent.

Aethyta shrugged. "She's just tired, that's all."

"M-hm, sure..." Shepard was about to turn towards the airlock when Aethyta reached out once more, placing a soft hand on Liara's shoulder.

"Just take care of yourself out there. Okay, kid?" she whispered, her expression serious this time.

The younger asari nodded, smiling tiredly after shooting a quick, happy glance at the woman now holding her. "I will... Dad."


End file.
